


Hide and Seek

by ThefirstRanger



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Disguise, Gen, Hide and Seek, The Gathering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25601665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThefirstRanger/pseuds/ThefirstRanger
Summary: At the Gathering, the rangers like to play hide and seek with the apprentices. Will, spooked by the tales Gilan has told him about the apparently terrifying game, comes up with a unique way to hide during the game.
Relationships: Gilan & Will Treaty, Halt O'Carrick & Will Treaty
Comments: 17
Kudos: 174





	Hide and Seek

The Gathering would be exciting enough even if he hadn't been regaled by Gilan and Halt (begrudgingly) of tall tales and tests that happened over the previous years. Will got to meet some of the other apprentices, which was nice, but the real treat was spending more time with Gilan, Halt, and even Crowley for a little bit. 

Currently, Gilan was regaling Will with stories from his apprenticeship by the campfire and the conversation inevitably turned to Gilan giving Will advice. There were lots of helpful hints, but there was one that Gilan kept repeating in reference to the Gathering. 

"Always have an escape plan. I'm serious. And a back up plan for that escape plan." 

"I thought you were Gilan," jokes Will, amused at the third time Gilan had repeated the tip. 

Gilan looked down at Will, none of the regular humor in his eyes. "I don't mean in general. Well, I mean yes, always have an escape plan in general, but I'm talking about the Gathering. It's the corps hide and seek game. If you don't take it seriously, you'll be the first one out. You find a hiding spot and when you inevitably get found, have an escape plan that will allow a few more fleeting seconds of freedom before you are caught." 

The seriousness in Gilan's tone was in contrast to the fun nature of the gathering so far. It was just the two of them around the campfire and up until the topic had turned to hide and seek, Gilan had been joking around. Now it's almost like Gilan is afraid of the game, afraid for Will. 

Will's not buying it. "How bad can it really be?" 

Gilan shudders at the thought, flashing back to his first Gathering hide and seek. "All the rangers run around like wild dogs with the scent, all out in the open while the apprentices hide. I was found quickly and thrown into the lake."

"Really?" 

"It's terrifying to be found and it's terrifying to know that they're out there hunting you, circling under the tree you've climbed, all silent and dark without their oakleaves to reflect the moonlight. It's times like this when I understand why people think we practice dark magic." 

Despite his still full wellspring of confidence, Will is a bit spooked. He's never seen Gilan like this before. "Gilan, you're a ranger. That means-"

"That means I'll be seeking you and the other apprentices. Don't worry, I'll take it easier on you. Halt and Crowley won't, but I will."

And with those encouraging words, Gilan doesn't say anything more about hide and seek.  
~~  
Somehow Gilan's words worm their way into Will's head, just enough for Will to risk getting caught sneaking out of camp. He has to check on his hiding spot and so Will sneaks through the dark woods to check on the tree and his hiding spot. 

It seems all clear and hidden away when Will arrives but something makes him freeze in the grass a couple meters away.

"Lovely hiding spot, isn't it?" A voice rings out in the night and Will can see the outline of a ranger crouching in the exact hiding spot he had staked out earlier. A flash of fear runs through Will. He doesn't think the ranger can see him but that thought disappears when the figure turns and flashes a manic, white smile towards Will's direction. 

Ok, so that spot won't work and now Will's pretty sure he'll be having nightmares for a week because of this. The ranger doesn't move when Will hightails it back to the camp and dives into the tent.  
~~  
The next day is much like the first one, training and stories and jokes, except Farrel brushes by Will during breakfast and flashes a familiar feral smile, causing Will to choke on his beans and Halt to scowl. There's a brief moment where Will's sure Farrel is going to rat him out, but then Farrel does the strangest thing. He goes on to another apprentice, flashing the same manic smile Will had seen last night to the other poor apprentice who looked terrified. Maybe Farrel didn't know it was Will who snuck out.

This interaction does give Will an idea that will either fail spectacularly or will turn him into a legend. If he couldn't tell it was Farrel under the cloak in the darkness, then maybe the reverse will work. What was it Halt said once? Something about hiding in plain sight and using people's expectations against them? 

Oh yeah. Will could do that.  
~~  
When twilight comes and the day starts to darken into night, all the apprentices are gathered and told it's time to go hide. Their mentors and the rest of the rangers would come find them in ten minute's time. Will's heard Leander, Andross, and Farrel loudly getting ready for the "hunt", as they called it, and the silent rangers passing by the apprentices en masse doesn't help anyone's nerves. 

"Run, little rangers, run!" crows Geldon, too excited for the prospect of hide and seek starting, and the apprentices scatter like spilled ink into the night. Will can see Nick and Skinner run south while Liam starts climbing a tree. Derrick and Clarke are sprinting for their lives. 

Rather than slip into the woods or the surrounding landscape like all his other peers, Will uses the cover of darkness to slip into Halt's tent and grab his spare mottled cloak and use some of the burnt soot from the fire to smear onto his face in a poor imitation of Halt's beard. No one will be fooled if they get close, but Will's betting on the darkness, general excitement at scaring the apprentices, and the fact that he's very close to Halt in height and color to stop people from taking a closer look. And the fact that his idea is off the wall crazy. Who would expect an apprentice to try and pass himself off as his mentor?

Not a minute passes after Will's finished with his costume when he hears, or maybe rather feels, rangers passing outside the tent. He can see vague dark shapes gliding by and it send a shiver down his spine for tonight, he is joining the terrifying pack. When he thinks the last of them have passed, Will slips outside and joins the mass of cloaked rangers entering the forest. No one gives Will a second glance and he does his best to act like everyone else before they all scatter in the forest.  
~~  
Admittedly, roaming around the forest in the dark scaring his friends is pretty easy and fun. All he has to do is sprint around, making sure to keep his face hidden, and occasionally point to random places when the rangers get close. Will does feel a bit bad when he draws attention to some of the other apprentices, but Skinner was right there up in the tree like a sitting duck and it would look suspicious if "Halt" didn't do anything. He does swear Skinner gives him a weird look as Will points back silently to the camp for Skinner to trudge back to.

There was one close call towards the middle of the game where Will hears someone not five meters, it sounds like Leander, whispering "Halt, that you?"

Will does his best Halt grunt and prays that Leander doesn't come closer because he's pretty sure the soot has flaked off. Soon, with his limited visibility, Will can see Leander nod and fade away into the brush. No more words than necessary are needed in the game, not when they could alert apprentices to their position.  
~~  
Towards the end of hide and seek, the apprentices start to join the rangers and they start to meet up and discuss by the meager firelight. There are still some canny and most likely frightened apprentices out there, but the majority have been found. Someone motions for Will to join the group and so Will has no choice but to reluctantly hang out by the edge of the crowd, hoping no one will especially notice him. Will is too scared not to obey the other rangers even if they do think he's Halt, any wrong move could blow his hiding spot.

Farrel speaks first. "We've found most of 'em." Several murmurs of agreement echo the sentiment. 

"They were sneaky this year, I'll give them that," someone chuckles smugly and Will doesn't dare move to see who. It sounds a bit like Bartell though. Halt told him that Bartell always enjoys messing with the apprentices a little bit. 

Farrel grins his signature smile. "I found one apprentice last night who was scoping out the old oak tree for his spot. Scared him away.Thought the little guy might go back to the tree in a bit of reverse psychology."

That elicits a lot of laughter, laughter that Will doesn't appreciate. He had thought the oak tree had been a pretty good spot. His spot is vindicated when Alun a couple rangers down from him mutters that he had hid there when he was apprentice and had gotten quite far in the game. 

"Which apprentice was it?" All the gathered apprentices shift on their feet, denying that they would ever dare sneak out. Or more likely, no one would ever admit to getting caught. 

"I think it was Will, Halt's apprentice. He had a particularly intense reaction when I walked by him this morning." So Will had been right about Farrel this morning. It's a gratifying thought, but this is getting to be dangerous territory and Will knows he needs to get out of there right now. He slowly starts to edge back into the dark forest, hoping the shadows would obstruct his movement. 

There's rustling from the other side of the fire clearing and a figure emerges. It was Crowley and a ways behind him in the forest, Will could just make out a small hooded man in the shadows, waiting for some unknown thing. Halt. Will makes direct eye contact with Crowley for less than a moment and it's enough for Will to guess that Crowley knows. 

"I found the last two apprentices. The game is over!" Cheers break out from the rangers and some of the apprentices

Crowley gently nudges forward Derrick and Clarke who look proud at getting caught last, but they're also sopping wet so Will doesn't know what's going on there. He'd later find out that they were hiding in the lake. A mob of apprentices surrounds Derrick and Clarke, offering congratulations and passing up some dry clothes. Rangers flock around Crowley, slapping him on the back and thrusting a cup of well-earned coffee in his hands. 

"Has anyone found Will yet?" It's the way he says it, overly casually and a bit too inquiring, that makes Will certain that Crowley knows. He's not quite sure how the Commandant could see through him in the smoky night, but Crowley's eyes have always been too curious and piercing. The question causes everyone to stir around and whisper exactly like Crowley had intended. Farrel especially.

"Yeah, where is the little guy? He wasn't at the oak tree he'd staked out."

The pieces were start to fit together in everyone's minds. No one spoke up to claim that they had found Will and Will himself doesn't dare breathe. The mutterings increase in volume. Was Crowley trying to give Will a heart attack?

"Wait, has no one seen Will this entire game?" Farrel asks incredulously. All the rangers shake their heads and no one speaks up to offer a sighting of Will. Not even the apprentices dare move their heads, Derrick and Clarke in particular look gobsmacked that they might not have been the last apprentices found. The shadow behind Crowley doesn't move but Will swears Halt can see right across to him. 

In his potent combination of pride and terror, Will isn't as careful stepping as he's been and the smallest, most delicate twig snaps under his soft sole. Immediately, a hooded head turns towards him and Will can see that it's Gilan with Leander at his side. 

"Relax Gilan, that's Halt. Probably off to go look for his apprentice."

Gilan narrows his eyes and darts his gaze over to Crowley for the briefest second like he was gathering his courage for something. Will doesn't dare move. Then fire floods his veins as Gilan steps forwards and yells "That's not Halt! It's Will!"

In unison, dozens of heads turned to the figure trying to creep into the woods and they all simultaneously spring into action. All the pent up, manic energy in everyone is let loose. As the closest ranger to Will, Gilan has the honor of catching the last apprentice in the hide and seek game and as Will was lovingly tackled to the ground, all he could think was "I should've had an escape plan."  
~~  
"Tackling me is taking it easy?"

"Hey, I'm still pretty new in the ranger hierarchy. Capturing you got me some mojo." 

Gilan and Will were back in the tent section of the Gathering Ground, waiting for Crowley and Halt to come back in and lecture the poor apprentice. The pair of rangers had been outside of Crowley's tent for some time now and could hear lots of mumbling between the two of them. 

"Stealing your mentor's cloak, impersonating a ranger," Crowley shook his head and turned away from Will to keep the boy from seeing the smile on his face. "What are we going to do with you, Will?"

Gilan has to fight to keep a straight face as Will lowers his gaze to the floor, only slightly worried. He knows exactly what sort of routine Crowley and Halt are doing and for good reason; Gilan had been subject to this "make the apprentice think he's in trouble before letting him know we're amused and proud" routine too many times. It's much more enjoyable to be on the other side of it, he thinks gleefully. 

Crowley looks at Will, still draped in Halt's cloak with soot smeared all over his face, and he can barely keep a straight face to continue on with the "lecture". Will's plan was the most amusing thing Crowley had seen all year and Halt had felt the same way after he had been assured that his beard did not in fact actually look like soot smeared haphazardly on his face.

It was a great ploy, albeit unconventional. It was a definite sign Will would be great on undercover missions. It was a sign Will would do even greater things to come, but Halt and Crowley aren't willing to tell Will that quite yet. 

"What made you choose this strategy of impersonating Halt?" The warmth in Crowley's voice gives Will hope and makes him look up from the ground. 

"Well, Halt always says that a ranger hides in plain sight and I figured that impersonating is hiding in plain sight. Plus no one would expect it." That part was very true. When Leander asked Halt about finding Skinner, people (Berrigan) figured out pretty quick that Leander had actually spoken to Will and hadn't figured the ruse out. Crowley knew for a fact that Leander was now in his tent nursing a coffee with milk in it. Sacrilegious. 

Halt speaks up for the first time from the corner. "We get the reasoning behind your decision, but you still haven't told us why."

Will scuffs a foot on the dirt and looks briefly embarrassed. "I didn't want to get thrown in the lake."

"What?" This apparently sincere response threw Crowley off of his game. 

"Gilan said you threw him in the lake the first game."

Halt glared at his former apprentice, clearly remembering that night. "No, Gilan decided to hide in a tree right above the lake and it broke right when I was below it. He crashed down on me and I pushed him off of me, which just so happened to be into the lake."

An undignified noise came from Crowley and he had to disguise it with a cough. He had forgotten about that. How could he have forgotten about that night? He really needed to start writing down all the things that happened during Gatherings; they would make great blackmail. 

Gilan wasn't going to take this implied insult in stride. "You tripped over a tree root that year and I know for a fact that's how you found Geldon's apprentice."

Ah, that's why he doesn't record these fun tales, thinks Crowley. They always lead to petty yet loving arguments and more paperwork for him. Will looks delighted though at this revelation and that signals to Crowley that it's time to dismiss this meeting. Halt feels the same. 

"Come on Will," Halt gestures towards the tent flap. "Time to get out of here."

"You're not punishing me for stealing your cloak?"

Halt scoffs and Will's face lights up in delight. "Of course not. It was a genius move. But as punishment for sneaking out last night, I'm going to let you face the horde of apprentices and rangers you tricked clamoring for you to speak to them by yourself. I heard Farrel and Leander are especially keen on hearing all the details of your little ruse."

Will turns pale at the mention of the two rangers who he had tricked and Gilan claps a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Have fun facing the horde!"


End file.
